BMW Cruise e Bike - any good?

[Vennwood]

You're very naive. .

I don't think so. I may not be knowledgeable on bike design but what I do is look at track records and have to say BMW's stacks up pretty well in all their various adventures - particularly in motorbike design - unless you're telling me they copy everyone else's ideas there too. They say they own the design team and presumably employ qualified people who also design their new motorbikes.

At the end of the day if they simply copied or use inferior products then they have a great deal to loose and reputations take a long time to rebuild. I bet they will still be around in 50 years or more which is more than I would put money on some of the cycle manufacturers (or dealers).

I'm not saying these BMW bikes are the best thing since slice bread neither am I saying their design and looks are great but I do think they would be safe and reliable - AND they offer 2 years parts and labour warranty valid throughout Europe how many other bike manufacturers offer that?

 

[Vennwood]

Most members have had more than one bike. You should therefore keep in mind that the first bike you buy is not going to stay with you for very long, possibly a year so do keep the depreciation in mind for that what if you don't like it any more.

Good point - I suspect that given the numbers of these bikes sold and their lack of appeal to seasoned bikers the depreciation will be heavy. In my case I have owned many bikes and got heavily burnt with my first electric bike some years ago. That's why I'm trying hard to really get it right this time as it will almost certainly be my last bike purchase

 

[EddiePJ]

The BMW one for £2000 is actually a 2014 model so maybe that is why it is less than the 2015 model price at £2400

Just out of curiosity and not that it really makes a blind bit of difference, but is the bike that you have seen using the Classic Line motor or the Newer Active Line with the smaller front sprocket?

I actually think that the BMW is a nice looking bike, but if you happen to be anywhere near to Crowborough and fancy trying the ladies equivalent of the Macina Fun, then I have one here that you are more than welcome to try.
I suspect that it is the same as any other Bosch powered 700c wheeled electric bike, so the following is probably applicable to all makes, but I have to say that it is certainly a pleasure to ride, and is incredibly easy to ride unassisted at a decent pace, well above the cut off point. Just a shame that my wife isn't confident enough to try it.

 

[flecc]

what I do is look at track records and have to say BMW's stacks up pretty well in all their various adventures - particularly in motorbike design -

Really? It's not reflected in their sales, where they have always been comprehensively outclassed. Nor do I agree that their designs are superior, as an ex motorcycle trade man I've always felt the opposite. They're well built and good tourers, but otherwise very limited in other applications.

I do think they would be safe and reliable -

Of course, all the functional parts other than the mainframe come from experienced bicycle part manufacturers. If the seat tube has been strengthened sufficiently, it will hold together as any bike of that price quality will.

AND they offer 2 years parts and labour warranty valid throughout Europe how many other bike manufacturers offer that?

That's the minimum among the better e-bikes and some like Ansmann do very much better. Frame warranties are commonly 6 years to life from the better manufacturers.
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[Vennwood]

Just out of curiosity and not that it really makes a blind bit of difference, but is the bike that you have seen using the Classic Line motor or the Newer Active Line with the smaller front sprocket?

I actually think that the BMW is a nice looking bike, but if you happen to be anywhere near to Crowborough and fancy trying the ladies equivalent of the Macina Fun, then I have one here that you are more than welcome to try.
I suspect that it is the same as any other Bosch powered 700c wheeled electric bike, so the following is probably applicable to all makes, but I have to say that it is certainly a pleasure to ride, and is incredibly easy to ride unassisted at a decent pace, well above the cut off point. Just a shame that my wife isn't confident enough to try it.

Thanks for that Eddie,
If I'm up that way I'll let you know. The 2014 bike I saw was the Active Line if that means anything - I got a call this morning to say it is now sold so someone may have got a bargain (or not)

 

[Vennwood]

flecc - I didn't say they were superior or anything, nor did I say they sold better than anyone else but you can't deny they build a safe and reliable motorbike. They don't build bikes or cars in the same quantity that Ford or Toyota or Kawasaki and Honda do. They don't build bikes to suit everyone there's is more of a niche market. Nor would I class their ebikes as top of the range - in fact they are in the low to medium sector regarding price for crank drive bikes.

Hearing views on here about warranty work it appears some aren't happy offering much of a warranty at all - even for pricier bikes. Anyway everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm simply trying to get what's best for me by exploring all the views from experienced bikers on here. That doesn't mean me or anyone else has to wholeheartedly agree with every poster

 

[mfj197]

Active Line identifies the bike as using the newer Generation II Bosch power units, albeit the lower power version (the Performance Line is the higher power version of the same motor system). The seat stay design reminds me of the Haibike Xduro Urban, Race and Superrace bikes and certainly looks good. But yes, for less money you could get a KTM with the same motor - or indeed for the same money you could get the KTM Macina Cross 10 Plus with the Performance Line motor and better components than the BMW.

Michael

 

[Deleted member 4366]

So you think this bike is designed and engineered by Ferrari?

When I was in China, there was a Ferrari bike on one of the well known Chinese factory stands. I could have been this one. There was Land Rover on another and probably a lot more.

Here's my "Canadian" Rocky Mountain. It looks sort of similar!

 

[anotherkiwi]

http://www.gizmag.com/bmw-limited-edition-cruise-m-bike/36941/

Executive summary: not designed by them, off the shelf components, they have been making bikes for 60 years.

(yes I know the article isn't about a pedelec)

 

[Vennwood]

So you think this bike is designed and engineered by Ferrari?

When I was in China, there was a Ferrari bike on one of the well known Chinese factory stands. I could have been this one. There was Land Rover on another and probably a lot more.

Here's my "Canadian" Rocky Mountain. It looks sort of similar!

View attachment 11300

Good old Chinese they do it again....

 

[flecc]

http://www.gizmag.com/bmw-limited-edition-cruise-m-bike/36941/

Executive summary: not designed by them, off the shelf components, they have been making bikes for 60 years.

(yes I know the article isn't about a pedelec)

But in support of their car division as they acknowledge with this M model, they are not a serious bicycle producer. Google BMW bicycles and you won't find cycle retailers with them, instead the retail links that come up are to BMW's own shops, and of course they are sold through their car showrooms.

It's promotional, their bicycle market is BMW car owners and their families, hence them making kids models too.
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[Vennwood]

That's all ok, but their one part, the frame, doesn't impress me since it's gimmicky. In particular terminating the upper rear frame tube, normally called the seat stay, half way down the seat tube makes no sense. The best position for maximum strength is higher, opposite the crossbar.

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BMW and Haibike both have the same ideas about terminating the upper rear frame tube half way down the seat tube - so I guess Haibike are gimmicky as well

 

[flecc]

BMW and Haibike both have the same ideas about terminating the upper rear frame tube half way down the seat tube - so I guess Haibike are gimmicky as well

Yes indeed, as I remarked in my earlier posts, BMW are not alone in that. It's silly style design and not only by those two.

Interestingly the BMW M bike model that anotherkiwi linked to above has a much more sensible seat stay termination, bracing to both seat stay tube and crossbar at the best junction point. So they do know how to get it right, demonstrating that getting it wrong isn't a mistake but done for style.
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[JohnCade]

particularly in motorbike design - unless you're telling me they copy everyone else's ideas there too. They say they own the design team and presumably employ qualified people who also design their new motorbikes.

At the end of the day if they simply copied or use inferior products then they have a great deal to loose and reputations take a long time to rebuild. I bet they will still be around in 50 years or more which is more than I would put money on some of the cycle manufacturers (or dealers).

I'm not saying these BMW bikes are the best thing since slice bread neither am I saying their design and looks are great but I do think they would be safe and reliable - AND they offer 2 years parts and labour warranty valid throughout Europe how many other bike manufacturers offer that?

I’ve always had a lot of time for BMW flat twins. I can’t speak for the later ‘oilhead’ versions, but the only thing you could quibble about on the bikes was a slightly clunky gearbox. They were expensive bikes and built for long legged all day riding not blasting about on twisty roads like so many bikers do.

Over the years BMW was very innovative too, and it was BMW who designed and produced the first telescopic hydraulic forks in the late twenties. They had the patent stitched up like a kipper and none of the other companies could make anything like it, and were all stuck with girder forks with friction damping. It took the end of the war for the patent to be broken as part of the victors’ spoils and then British bikes all started sporting them.

British car makers took the designs and made some of the cars under different names too. Bristol cars produced pre war BMW copies after the war.

 

[mfj197]

... the only thing you could quibble about on the bikes was a slightly clunky gearbox

And the way the entire bike tipped slightly to the side when blipping the throttle as a result of having the rotating mass of crankshaft, flywheel etc. all along the fore-aft line of the bike. Mind you, that's not exclusively a BMW problem - the Honda Goldwing has the same sort of configuration too.

Michael

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I never noticed that on my R75 or R100RT, nor on any other shaft drive Honda. The R75 had a massive flywheel, so gear-changing was very slow. You couldn't race people away from the lights because if you revved it, you had to wait about 5 seconds for the motor to slow down before you could engage the next gear. The main shortcomings of the boxer twins were gearbox problems and leaking crackshaft seals, which meant you had to remove the clutch and gearbox to fix it. The R75 had a triplex timing chain that didn't last long. You had to remove the clutch and gearbox to replace it, which was a right pain. The later boxers had a duplex one with a joining link. How long did it it take them to figure out that as an improvement?

The BMW boxers of the seventies and eighties were nothing special regarding reliability. They were living on their reputation compared with Triumphs and BSAs. The Japanese 4-cylinder bikes were miles better. I had a K100RS, which I bought new in 1992. It was a disaster. Every time I started it up, the whole neighbourhood disappeared under a cloud of smoke. The wind buffetting from their patent adjustable screen was also terrible. It was as if their design team had never actually ridden the bike. You could tell something was wrong as soon as you went over 50 mph. That was one of the few motorbikes that I owned that I didn't like, so I didn't keep it long.

 

[Vennwood]

I never noticed that on my R75 or R100RT, nor on any other shaft drive Honda. The R75 had a massive flywheel, so gear-changing was very slow. You couldn't race people away from the lights because if you revved it, you had to wait about 5 seconds for the motor to slow down before you could engage the next gear. The main shortcomings of the boxer twins were gearbox problems and leaking crackshaft seals, which meant you had to remove the clutch and gearbox to fix it. The R75 had a triplex timing chain that didn't last long. You had to remove the clutch and gearbox to replace it, which was a right pain. The later boxers had a duplex one with a joining link. How long did it it take them to figure out that as an improvement?

The BMW boxers of the seventies and eighties were nothing special regarding reliability. They were living on their reputation compared with Triumphs and BSAs. The Japanese 4-cylinder bikes were miles better. I had a K100RS, which I bought new in 1992. It was a disaster. Every time I started it up, the whole neighbourhood disappeared under a cloud of smoke. The wind buffetting from their patent adjustable screen was also terrible. It was as if their design team had never actually ridden the bike. You could tell something was wrong as soon as you went over 50 mph. That was one of the few motorbikes that I owned that I didn't like, so I didn't keep it long.

Crikey this is a trip down memory lane - its all coming flooding back

 

[mfj197]

The only boxer engines I actually had were on a couple of Porsche Boxsters over the years. It was nigh-on impossible to even see the engine as it was located underneath the folding roof / parcel shelf via a few panels, and even from the bottom you couldn't see it as there were streamlining panels all along the bottom. Might as well have been a small herd of elephants in there as far as I knew - certainly trumpeted like one when the revs were right!

 

[flecc]

Over the years BMW was very innovative too, and it was BMW who designed and produced the first telescopic hydraulic forks in the late twenties.

In the m/c division mainly pre-war though, the innovation was largely replaced by copying and borrowing post WW2, starting with the Italian Isetta bubble car which they built under licence.

Their paralever rear suspension was the same as that patented in two forms by both MV Agusta and Moto Guzzi. Their three innovative front suspensions were all due to others, first the English Earles fork, then the Telelever which was also British designed, finally Norman Hossack's Duolever.

Some of their F series engines are made by Rotax and their G series are co-designed with Aprilia and wholly made by Aprilia in Italy for BMW.

Their four and six cylinder motorcycles have progressively been turned into two wheeled cars, the engines clearly utilising the car division's knowledge.

Their other copying strategy has been the common one of taking over companies to obtain their knowhow, Husqvarna Motorcycles
in 2007 for example but six years later sold off to KTM.
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[pron]

You're very naive. I guarantee that that bike wasn't designed by BMW.

The frame is designed by Designworks in USA, and it's a BMW company that is doing designwork both for BMW and others. The same frame are also used on modeles without motor. BMW is not the biggest bike selling company, but the have quite a few in the range. Bike catalog.
I have been using the cruise-e since may to and from work, and it's been very good.